Vegan Sweet Potato Cake With Maple Cashew Icing

This vegan sweet potato cake recipe is full of fall flavors such as cinnamon, ginger, as well as raisins, and walnuts.  Rich and moist, the cherry on top is the decadent maple and cashew icing. 

I’ve shared quite a few fantastic sweet potato desserts over the years, like my sweet potato casserole and sweet potato creme brulee.  I love me some good sweet potato!  And when my niece who is vegan was coming over I wanted to make her a spectacular treat so found this recipe for a Sweet Potato Bundt cake and I changed a couple things around to make it vegan.  Wasn’t sure how it would turn out but now it’s one of my favorites. With hints of cinnamon and ginger, it’s the perfect cake to bake this fall. Move aside, carrot cake! I make this into a bundt cake and it’s overflowing with deliciously rich ingredients i.e. sweet potato, raisins, and walnuts. Adding in applesauce ensures the cake remains nice and moist too. 

But my FAVORITE part hands down is the maple and cashew icing. Sweet and nutty, it’s the perfect accompaniment for this sweet potato cake. You will want to reach for a slice of this bundt cake for breakfast, snack, or dessert – it’s just that good!

If that wasn’t enough to entice you to bake this eggless sweet potato cake recipe, let me tell you that it’s so easy to make and a must for beginner bakers. Yep, it only takes 15 minutes to prep! As mentioned, it’s also vegan and can easily be converted into a gluten-free cake. Let’s get baking!

Recipe Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar (I used light brown sugar but any sugar works, including coconut sugar)
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato puree (cold or room temp)
• A tablespoon of butter (vegan butter or dairy)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup walnuts (crushed)

Maple Cashew Icing

• 1 cup cashews (soaked in water for 2 hours)
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using a large mixing bowl, beat the sweet potato puree, sugar, butter, water, and applesauce.

In a separate medium mixing bowl add the dry ingredients: flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the sweet potato mixture and mix thoroughly. 

Combine the crushed walnuts and raisins and mix throughout the batter.

Pour the cake batter into a lightly greased fluted tube pan.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

To make the cashew maple frosting, drain the soaked cashews and add them to a food processor, blender, or stick blender container. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and blend until smooth. If the frosting is too thick you can add more maple syrup or your favorite milk of choice. 

*The 1 tablespoon of cornstarch is an option if you want a thicker frosting. Simply combine the cornstarch to the cashew maple frosting and place in a pan on low heat stirring often to heat but not boil or burn the frosting but to just activate the corn starch for thickening purposes as well as adding volume and consistency.

Once the cake has cooled and been removed from the pan, place frosting in a container with a pouring spout and pour over the cake top and let it run down the sides.

Serve and enjoy your vegan sweet potato cake!

This recipe is inspired by tasteofhome.com.

Storage

Store the cake in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Recipe Notes

• For the frosting, soak the cashews ideally for at least 2 hours.
• If you’d prefer, you can substitute the raisins for chocolate chips (vegan, dark, or milk chocolate) to make a delicious sweet potato chocolate cake. 

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this sweet potato cake gluten-free?

Yes, you can use 1:1 gluten-free flour.

I want a bigger/taller cake, can I add more ingredients?

Yes, just keep the same ratio of ingredients and you can 1.5x or 2x.

Can I use something besides walnuts?

Yes, pecans work just as well.

Can I use an egg in this recipe?

You can. Simply take out the apple sauce and use 1 egg instead. It may change the consistency slightly as the apple sauce provides some moisture.

If you’re in a baking mood, check out these other delicious cakes:

Yellow Cake with Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Icing

Texas Turtle Sheet Cake

Sock It To Me Cake (Recipe From Scratch)

Super Easy King Cake Recipe

Red Velvet Bundt Cake Recipe

Chocoholic Cake